Steam boiler



l. HARTER STEAM BOILER Oct. 18, 1932.

File dOCb. 31, 1928 @Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR L Am J/W BY PM ATTORNEYLS I. HARTER STEAM BOILER Oct. 18, 1932.

Filed 001;. 31, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 JIBIV ENTORQ @W? M ATTORN EYJ |.v HARTER STEAM BOILER Oct. 1-8, 1932.

Filed Oct. 51, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Z WINVENTOR F'fiRNEY:

Patented a. 18, 1932 untrue STATES PATENT on-"ten ISAAC HAR'IER, OF NEW YORK,1N. Y., ASSIGrNOIt''10 THE iBAIBCOCK &;'WILCOX COMPANY, OF'BAYONNE, NEW ;JERSEY, A CORPOBATIONOF NEWJEZRSEY STEAM BOILER .Application filed October 31,.1928.- Serial 'No. 316,283.

-My present invention relates to boilers of the water tube type and will be. best understood from the following description of an illustrative embodiment.

In the drawings, Fig. .1 is a sectional side elevation of a knowntypeof horizontal water tube boiler to which one form of my invention has been applied; Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevation, partly in section, of a portion of the boiler shown in Fig. land Fig. 3 is a plan View of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a view of the left-hand end of Fig. 2 and 'Fig. 5, a view of the right-hand end of Fig. 2; Fig. 6 is a section on line 6-6 of Fig. .2; Fig. 7 isa side elevation, much enlarged and with parts broken away, of one of the tubes in the illustrative embodiment;'Fig. '8 is'a plan view of Fig.7, viewedat right angles to the straight centerportion of the tubes; and Fig. 9 is an enlarged section of one of the headers. v

Like reference characters indicate like parts in the severalviews. I v

In the illustrative embodiment, an upper bankof horizontally. disposed water tubes 10 extend between uptake headers 11 and downtake. headers 12 and alower bank of water tubes 13 extends between headers 1e and 15, these latter being connected to headers 11 and 12, respectively, by'nipples 16and 17, in the usual manner. The boiler is provided with a superheater 18 and an upper steam and water drum 19,.the latter being connected ,to the. headers in the usual manner. Baflles 20 and 21 extend across the tubes to give the gases 1 i from the furnace a serial up and down flow over thetubes. In the illustrative embodiment, the head- -ers are vertical and are substantially rectangular in cross section, as shown;in Figs. 3 and 9. The headers are placed side by side, all of the sides of the headers being straight.

The tubes are arrangedin horizontal rows and, in the illustrative. embodiment, there are as many headers asthere are tubes in a row. Each header is 'provided'with a vertical row oftube holes,-but'the alternate tube holes'in each'vertical row are on opposite sides of the center line of the'inner face of the header.

In order tohave the inclinedtubes-enter the tube holes normal to the vertical faces of the headers, I bendthe upperend of each tube so that the axis of its extreme end is normal to this face,'the "lower end beingbe'nt upwardly in the same manner. 7

Each tube also has a reversebend at its ends, .these bends being in the horizontal plane, the bends at the two ends being on the same side of the main portion'of the tube, which is left straightbecause these'reverse bends, as well as the bends in thejvertical plane, are relatively short. p

. Byproviding these bends in the horizontal plane, the tubes are staggered as to their'main, straight portions, the bends in one row being 1n one direction and in the adjacent rows in the oppositedirection. This arrangement is best illustrated in Fig. 3.

. The arrangement so "far described is ad vantageous because it. "enables the use .of headers of relatively simple shapeandthal'efore relatively easily constructed, the vertical position giving a :more rigid construction than the inclined headers sometimes used.

But it .is desirable-to provide means -.by whichaa tube can be. removed. and replaced with'a minimum of disturbance orweakening of the boiler parts. v

It is usual to provide openings in the outer faces of the headers of water tube -i boilers through which thetubes maybe withdrawn bend 27.

the uptake headers, I have illustrated an arrangement for that method, but it will be understood that parts may be reversed so that the Withdrawal can be through the downtake headers, if desired.

side of the extreme end of the pipe is enlarged or not.

The collar 22 is connected to the main,

straight portion of the tube by curves 23 and 24, the latter being the curves which bring the axis of the extreme end of the tube normal to the header face.

At the downtake end, in the illustrative a embodiment, I reduce the diameter of the tube below that of the main, straight portion. Preferably this small diameter which is shown at 25 is chosen so that, although the end of the tube isbent upward, a continuation of line in Fig. 7 will pass through the extreme upper part of the small end of the tube. The reason for this will be pointed out below. For the best results, this extreme upper part should not extend substantially above the line 1O when extended.

For ease of manufacture and also to give a tapered passage for the flow of water into the tube, I preferably taper the tube from the main straight portion to the small end, as at 26, preferably, however, having this tapered portion longer than the bend 27 at that end. I also prefer to place most of the taper on the upper side of the pipe, that is, on the side adjacent the center of curvature of By so doing, I can make the end larger than would be possible if the taper were evenly distributed between the two sides.

In effect, the construction just described makes the small end of the tube eccentric to the main straight portion. This will be clear if a section through the tube on line 28-28, Fig. 7 (inside of the bend 27 is considered in its relation to a similar section through the main straight portion of the tube. Then when this eccentric end is bent at 27, this eccentric relation is not changed, though, of course, the axes of the extreme end and the main portions are no longer in alinement.

The downtake headers 12 may be provided with handholes and handhole closures of the usual type and in the usual positions,

'since these holes are used, in the illustrative embodiment, merely for cleaning the tubes and expanding the ends of the tubes.

In the uptake headers, the handholes 29 are located so as to make Withdrawal and insertion of a tube as easy as possible. In my preferred form, I use elliptical handholes, with appropriate closures therefor of a Wellknowntype, the long axis of the ellipse being horizontal.

The length and position of the vertical axis of the handhole is preferably determined by projecting the top and bottom of the collar 22 in a direction parallel to the main straight part of the tube, so that the tube can be moved axially through its tube hole while the collar 22 passes through the handhole.

Preferably I make thehandhole 29 as wide as the header will permit without weakening its walls. As shown in Fig; 9, the seat 30 for the inner portion of the handhole closure extends up to the usual fillet on the interior of the header, the opening itself being somewhat smaller than this seat.

With the arrangement illustrated, a tube may be replaced without material deviation from motion parallel to the axis of its main straight part. Thus, by the construction at the downtake end, that end can pass through a hole, as in baflie 21, of the diameter of the main straight part, because all parts at this end, even though the tube is bent, are within the projected lines of the top and bottom of the tube.

Likewise the enlarged uptake end of the tube will pass through the handhole in the uptake header and into the tube hole without requiring material deviation from the desired axial path of movement of the straight part of the tube. It will be understood that this enlarged end of the tube is shown expanded in the header and that when a new tube is to be entered, the enlarged end is smaller than the tube hole itself.

By enlarging the tube hole in the uptake header 11 above the nominal size of the tube, as represented by the diameter of the main straight portion, the bends in the horizontal plane shown in Fig. 3 are accommodated, these bends passing through the enlarged hole without causing material deviation from the desired axial movement and the wide handholes permitting the bend to move sidewise to accommodate this axial movement. I

It will be understood that the arrangement I have shown is merely illustrative and that the embodiment of my invention may be widely varied. While, preferably, I embody my invention in a horizontal Water tube boiler, certain features may be used in other types of water tube boilers. Nor is it essential that all of the described features be embodied even in a horizontal water tube boiler, though they should be to obtain the best results. While, preferably, I use a plurality of rectangular-sectioned headers on each side, a single water chamber may be used or a plurality of headers other than rectangular in cross section.

I claim:

1. In a water tube steam boiler, oppositely-disposed water chambers having their adjacent faces flat and substantially parallel to each other and a plurality of water tubes extending between and having their ends entered into openings in said parallel faces, the ends of each tube having bends in two planes with respect to the main portion of the tube, whereby each end is brought into position to enter said openings at right angles to said faces and the main portion of each tube is out of alinement in each plane with said openings.

2. A steam boiler having upwardly extending, oppositely-disposed water chambers with their opposed faces substantially parallel, and a plurality of horizontal rows of water tubes extending between and having their ends expanded into openings in said parallel faces, each tube being straight and horizontallyinclined for the major portion of its length, the upper end of each tube having a downward bend and the lower end of the tube having an upward bend, whereby the ends of the tubes are normal to the adjacent faces of the water chambers, each tube having one of its expanded ends larger in diameter than the main portion of the tube.

3. A steam boiler having upwardly extending, oppositely-disposed water chambers with their opposed faces substantially parallel, and a plurality of horizontal rows of water tubes extending between and having their ends entered into openings in said parallel faces, each tube being straight and horizontally-inclined for the major portion of its length, the upper end of eachtube having a downward bend and the lower end of the tube having an upward bend, whereby the ends of the tubes are normal to the adjacent faces of the water chambers, each tube having a portion adjacent one of its'extreme ends smaller than the main portion of the tube and the tube being tapered between the main portion and the extreme end, whereby the outline of the bend at that end, when projected on the plane of the bend, does not extend substantially outside the lines defining the main portion of the tube when projected on said plane and extended to the end of the tube.

4. A steam boiler having upwardly extending, oppositely-disposed Water chambers with their opposed faces flat and substantially parallel to each other, and a plurality of horizontal rows of water tubes extending between and having their ends entered into openings in said parallel faces, each tube being straight and horizontally-inclined for the major portion of its length, the upper end of each tube having a downward bend and the lower end of the tubehaving an upreverse bend at each end in a horizontal plane,

whereby the-tubes in each row are in-stag- :geredrelation tothe tubes in the adjacent rows.

5. A steam boiler having two sets of vertical headers substantially rectangular in ,cross'section with theirsides straight, the

headers of each set'being placed side-by-side "and the sets being spaced apart with their adjacent faces substantially parallel, a plurality of horizontal rows of watertubes extending between and having their ends entered into openings in said parallel faces, each header having a single opening for each honzontal row with alternate openings at one side of the center line of the header, each tube being horizontally-inclined and with a bend at each end, whereby the tube enters the face of the header normal thereto, each tube having a portion adjacent one of its extreme ends larger than the diameter of the main portion of the tube, and a portion adj acent the other of its extreme ends smaller than the diameter of said main portion, with the tube tapered at least throughout the bend adjacent said smaller end.

6. In a steam boiler, a tube straight for j the major portion of its length and having bends in its ends in one plane on relatively short radii, with the centers thereof on op,- posite sides of the tube, at least one of the ends being tapered down at least throughout said bend so that the outline of said bent portion,-when projected on the plane of the bend, does not extend substantially outside the lines defining the main portion of the tube when projected on said plane and extended to the end of the tube.

7. In asteam boiler, a tube straight for the major portion of its length and having bends in its ends in one plane on relatively short radii, with the centers thereof on opposite sides of the tube, at least one of the ends'being tapered down at least throughout saidbend so that the outline of said bent port-ion, when projected on the plane of the bend, does not extend substantially outside the lines defining the main portion of the tube when projected on said plane and ex tended to the end of the tube, the major portion of the taper in the plane of the bend being on the side adjacent the center of curvature.

8. In a steam boiler, a tube straight for the major portion of its length and having relatively short reverse bends at each end and in the same plane, a portion of the tube adjacent one end being larger in diameter than the major portion of the tube and a portion of the tube adjacent the other end being smaller in diameter than the major portion of the tube and the tube being tapered be- SL2 tween said smaller diameter and the main portion of the tube.

9. In a water tube steam boiler, upright oppositely-disposed water chambers having adjacent flat faces, a plurality of water tubes extending between and having their ends entered into openings in said flat faces, the ends of each tube having bends in two planes with respect to the main portions of the tube, whereby each end is brought into position to enter said opening at right angles to said faces, and the main portion of each tube is out of alinenient with each plane in respect to said openings.

ISAAC HARTER. 

